Punter gets chance to play at Old Trafford
Betfred, the official betting partner of talkSPORT's 'H&J' (Hawksbee and Jacobs) show, were pleased to give one of the programme's listeners, Owen Hall, and his football team, 'Halls AFC', a once in a lifetime experience.
By winning a competition on the 'H&J' show, Owen and his team got to play at Premier League champions Manchester United's very own 'Theatre Of Dreams', Old Trafford.
Owen, a 35-year-old truck driver and Tottenham fan from Gravesend, and his team took on a Racing Post XI courtesy of Betfred's official betting partnership with Manchester United.
Before the game Owen said: "When I won I was thrilled. I initially entered the competition because my stepson Charlie Simmons is a huge United fan. I was thrilled knowing he would be able to watch me play at Old Trafford.
"Some of our lads are also huge United fans, so as you can imagine they were astonished they would grace the same turf as their heroes. Even the lads who support other clubs knew that playing at Old Trafford is something else.
"Mind you, I'm a bit worried about the older lads such as my dad Charlie 'Little Legs' Hall and my father-in-law Tommy ‘We Won The World Cup' Simmons as they will struggle to put their boots on, let alone get around the big pitch!
"Myself, I'll be fine as I have Steven Gerrard's energy, Glenn Hoddle's vision and Bobby Moore's character of playing the game as it should be played."
The game ended in a 3-2 defeat for Halls AFC against the Racing Post XI even though there was a twist in the final seconds when Halls AFC won a penalty. Up stepped Owen with the chance to level the game at 3-3, but his spot-kick was saved.
Owen said afterwards: "It was an absolutely amazing day. I'm gutted I missed the penalty but playing at Old Trafford was still a truly fantastic experience.
"Special thanks to JC and Mark at Betfred and to H&J for making it possible. The lads will no doubt give me some stick on the way home!"
His team-mate Steve Buss said of the penalty miss: "Owen can star in his very own Pizza advert now! In fairness though we are all grateful to him for winning the competition, which meant we all had a fantastic day."
Betfred spokesman John Cruces, known as JC when on air on talkSPORT, said: "I was glad to hear the lads had a cracking day. It was our pleasure to give a normal set of lads the chance to play on a Premier League pitch.
"You have to feel for Owen in respect of the penalty miss, but he had the nerve to take it and did answer the questions to get the rest of the team there. So credit where it's due."
Betfred are offering all Bettingpro readers a £50 free bet.